Take a deep breath, please!
Smartphones are both a blessing and a curse. Therefore, it depends on us to make the best of it and to use them for the good of ourselves. There are plenty of great apps bringing somewhat more awareness to our everyday life.
1. 7Mind – for More Meditation
The perfect meditation app for everyone who wants to take time out each day: 7Mind. The app reminds you to meditate on a daily basis and at a fixed time. The beginning includes a seven unit-basic class. You learn how to calm down, to allow for relaxation and to breathe in the right way. Don’t you worry, the exercises are simple and have the potential to convince even the worst meditation-stick-in-the-mud. After the introduction, a few complimentary meditations cater to various everyday situations: situations like falling asleep, just waiting or stressful moments. Those who’d like to dive deeper into the matter may buy additional packages – in my opinion, the basics are more than sufficient. Thanks to an individual profile, the various meditations are saved. Believe it or not, but in the course of time, I’ve learned to relax consciously and to take about seven minutes for this, nearly every day.
2. Good Morning Alarm Clock – for Better Sleep
A good night’s sleep is the key to having a good day. Meanwhile, there’s a wide range of sleep-analysing apps that ring at the right moment thus, when the sleep is light – like the “Guten-Morgen-Wecker“app, for example. I thought it was exciting to learn about the duration of the different sleeping phases. At first, I had my doubts about the wake-up function, in the meantime, however, I’m convinced. Nevertheless, I’m still setting a safety-wakeup-call, just to be on the safe side and for a quieter sleep. The app lacks nothing: it provides everything from additional relaxation sounds helping to fall asleep to the sleep quality’s visualization.
3. Fabulous – for More Positive Routines
One of my newest awareness-apps,“Fabulous”, helps to integrate healthy everyday routines on a long-term basis. I started with the daily reminder to drink a glass of water right after getting up in the morning. As soon as I’ve performed a task on three consecutive days, I’m getting assigned a new one – the old habits should be kept, of course. To match the routines with your life, you may add individual habits by yourself: eating more fruit, for example, or working out, being thankful, calling friends, using dental floss and many more. The app offers a wide range of habits for the morning, afternoon or evening to be adopted at convenience. Although I’m using the app only for a short time, I’m already thrilled and less negative towards the idea of routines.
3 1/2. No App
As convenient as apps may be, as liberating it is sometimes to put the smartphone aside sometimes. That’s what we should do each day and remind ourselves – without an app.
Translation: Danielle De Bie
